


Yes: #32

by Ignisentis



Series: 32 Ways To Say I Love You [32]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Idiots in Love, M/M, POV Alternating, POV Main Characters, POV Outsider, Sam Wilson and Pepper Potts Are Good Bros, THE HAPPIEST OF ENDINGS, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22729129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignisentis/pseuds/Ignisentis
Summary: Steve has a very important question he wants to ask Bucky, so he enlists some help to make it a day Bucky will never forget.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: 32 Ways To Say I Love You [32]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602352
Comments: 70
Kudos: 162





	Yes: #32

**Author's Note:**

> We did it!! We made it to the end! Holy crap, can you believe it?!?
> 
> I would like to thank each and every one of you who left kudos or wrote me a comment or found me on Twitter and chatted me up there. I so appreciate each and every one of you, and it's been really satisfying to see how this series has resonated with all of you. It's been a lot of fun to work on, but also really difficult at times, and more time-consuming than I expected, which makes sense since I wrote over 50,000 words in 32 days. Your comments and love for the series kept me going, so thanks for the assist! Now that I'm not writing every day, I'll have time to get to the unanswered comments, too, I promise!
> 
> I'd like to especially thank my dear friend [paperstorm](http://paper-storm.tumblr.com) who helped me brainstorm and listened to me vent and yelled at me to write instead of procrastinate. This series would not have happened if it weren't for her, so thank you for all your help, my dear! You're the best!!!
> 
> I have a little question for you in the end notes, so if you want to answer me in your comment, I would love that!
> 
> As always, you can find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Ardeospina) if you want.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Steve**

Steve sighs happily as he gets on the elevator to head back to the apartment. His meeting had run long, and he could feel the beginnings of a stress headache forming. Sure, the serum will take care of it a handful of minutes after it starts, but for those minutes, it hurts like hell.

He frowns when he opens the door to their apartment, the smell of burnt food wafting toward him. “Bucky?” he calls out, making his way toward the kitchen where he’ll presumably find Bucky.

“In here!” Bucky calls back from, yep, the kitchen.

The smokey smell is definitely getting stronger as he gets closer to the kitchen, so Steve asks Jarvis to clear the air. Bucky obviously was too busy dealing with whatever went wrong to do it himself.

Whatever went wrong turns out to be a tray of burnt...things that Bucky’s holding. Bucky, whose hair is dripping wet and is only wearing a towel.

“What happened?” Steve asks, coming across the kitchen and stopping in front of the tray.

Bucky sighs heavily and looks up at Steve. “I was trying to make some cherry-filled pastries, but I guess I didn’t get the turns right on my puff pastry, so the butter leaked out all over the tray. And then that made the bottoms all soggy — heh — and the cherry filling started spilling out, and apparently the combination of hot butter and cherry filling means it will burn, even when you have a timer set so you can enjoy a bath while they bake.”

Ah. That explains the hair and the towel. And the smoke, he supposes. Steve opens a drawer and pulls out a few trivets so Bucky can set the tray down on the counter.

“It’s just...ugh it’s really fucking annoying because puff pastry takes _forever_ to make, Steve, and all of that effort just…”

Steve kind of zones out for a little while, which he knows he shouldn’t do because Bucky is upset. It’s just...Christ, it feels incredible to be able to just worry about these simple, easy things instead of the massive, soul-crushing problems they’re used to dealing with.

“...and then the elephants came trampling through the room, and I swear, Steve, it looked for a moment like they wanted to stop and help, so I…”

Steve frowns at Bucky when he tunes back into the conversation, but Bucky just smiles.

“Was I boring you there, pal?”

“I’m sorry, Buck, I just got thinking and then sort of zoned out a little.”

“What were you thinking about?” Bucky asks with a wry smile.

“I was thinking about your burnt pastries and your ruined pies when you first started baking and the hole in your sock that made you cry. About how upset I got when I found out Mythbusters was being cancelled, how I broke my favorite mug the other morning and was sad the rest of the day.”

Bucky gasps. “You broke your heat-activated Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissent collar mug?!?!?”

Steve nods. “I did, and it was _awful,_ Bucky. But...God, I was thinking about how _nice_ it is, how fucking wonderful, that these are the things we get to worry about now. It used to be not making rent, how to afford medicine or food, whether this would be the bout of pneumonia that would finally kill me off, you having to work your fingers to the bone at two jobs.

“All these things we worry about now, these little things...it’s so _good,_ Buck, and so fucking _normal.”_

Bucky’s smiling fondly at Steve when he finishes talking. He walks over to Steve and wraps his arms around him, pulling him back and spinning him a little before pressing a kiss to his lips. Steve huffs out a laugh and lets Bucky move him, lets himself be twirled. 

“What else do you want for our nice, normal life, Stevie?”

“I want…” _to marry you,_ Steve doesn’t say out loud. He freezes, stopping his feet as his eyes go wide. Holy shit. He wants to marry Bucky.

“Steve? What’s wrong, baby?” Bucky asks, concerned. 

_Shit,_ Steve thinks. _Okay, Steve. Be cool here. You’ve got this._

“I...just realized that when I looked for my new replacement RBG mug, I put it in my shopping cart and didn’t actually order it.”

_Oh, for fuck’s sake!_

“O-okay,” Bucky says, grinning like he thinks Steve’s the world’s biggest fool. Which...well. “We should order a new one now, then, before you forget again.” Bucky kisses the tip of Steve’s nose and steps back, pulling out his phone as he does. “What’s the website?”

~~~

“Hey, I’m gonna go watch a movie with Sam, maybe have some dinner. I’ll be back before bed,” Steve tells Bucky later that evening.

“Okay,” Bucky calls without looking up from whatever it is that he’s embroidering. “Have fun!”

Steve waves at Bucky, even though he knows he won’t see it, promptly feeling like an idiot. God, his earlier realization has really made him feel off-kilter in a way he wasn’t expecting. He really hopes Sam has some of Thor’s mead lying around somewhere because he could use a drink.

~~~

**Sam**

Sam smiles when he hears the knock on his door. He loves movie nights with Steve. He knows it has to be frustrating to have so many people tell him he has to watch this TV show or this movie, but Steve had brought it up himself once, asked if Sam would mind helping him catch up on things, maybe explain some context since it’s hard to get that when he’s watching alone. Steve’s great to watch movies with, gets really into it, asks pertinent questions afterwards. It’s fun.

“Come on in!” he exclaims as he opens the door. “I got Indiana Jones all queued up, I’ve got snacks, we are ready to go!”

Steve is totally checked out when the door opens, mind clearly working through something. Sam snorts and heads back to the TV room, snorting again when Steve trails after Sam like a duckling. As soon as they’re both sitting on the couch, Steve blurts out, “I want to marry Bucky.”

Ah. Steve’s mood makes a lot more sense now. “Yeah? That’s awesome, man, congratulations.”

“Isn’t it?” Steve squeaks, which makes Sam pause the previews and take a hard look at Steve.

“Are you freaking out a little?”

Steve nods sheepishly.

“Why? What are you worried about?”

Steve shrugs. “I don’t know. Just feels big is all.”

“That’s ‘cause it _is_ big. Do you love him?”

Steve’s face goes all soft and gooey. “Yeah. I do.”

“I know you do, dumbass,” Sam says fondly. “Anyone with eyes can see that. And he loves you back, just as much.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So it’s okay to be nervous, but Steve, I have never seen two people more suited for each other. You feel like you want to marry your boy? Then marry your boy.”

“Just like that, huh?” Steve says wryly.

“Just like that,” Sam says, smiling.

“Will you come with me to pick out a ring?”

“Hell yeah I will. Someone has to make sure your khaki-wearing ass doesn’t pick something lame. Text me when you figure out where you want to go and I’ll see what my schedule looks like.”

Steve’s smiling now, looking happy about the prospect instead of scared, which is so damn endearing.

“Thank you,” Steve says earnestly, like he always does.

Sam feels his answering smile spread across his face. “Yeah, man. Of course. Now, are you ready for some Indiana Jones action?”

“I literally have no idea what that means, so sure!”

Sam laughs and presses play

~~~

**Pepper**

Pepper frowns at the knock on her door, looking up from her computer. “Yes?” she calls out.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Michelle says, eyes a little wide like she’s...hmm. Pepper’s not sure what she looks like. “But Steve Rogers is here to see you,” Michelle finishes. Ah. She’s starstruck. Pepper can’t really blame the woman. Steve tends to have that effect on people.

“Send him in, please,” Pepper says, and Michelle squeaks a little as she nods.

“Thank you,” Steve tells Michelle as she leads him into Pepper’s office, and the poor thing goes red and squeaks again.

“Thank you, Michelle, that will be all,” Pepper says, taking pity on the young woman. She nods and leaves the room, but not before one last assessing glance at Steve, who doesn’t seem to notice.

“She seems nice,” Steve says as he leans in to hug Pepper.

“I’m going to tell her you said that. It’ll make her year,” Pepper smirks.

Steve chuckles and sits down on the couch across from Pepper.

“Now, Steve,” she says, sitting down on her own couch. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“Sorry for just barging up here like this. I know you must be busy.”

“Not so busy that we can’t talk. What’s on your mind?”

“Um, do you remember a few months ago when you took us to get the watches? And you saw me looking at rings and said when I was ready, you’d make an appointment for me to meet with someone at the store?”

Pepper feels an overwhelming amount of fondness swoop through her. Bucky brings it up sometimes during sewing nights, how he thinks he wants to marry Steve, spend the rest of their lives together. They’re going to do that anyway, Pepper knows, but marriage: the way Bucky talks about it, how it wasn’t ever something he thought he and Steve would be able to do...god, he’s going to be so incredibly happy when Steve proposes. Pepper almost wishes she could be there just to see his face.

“Of course I remember. We went to Tiffany’s. When do you want an appointment?”

“Wait, that was Tiffany’s? I’ve heard of them. They were…” he trails off.

_Around before,_ Pepper thinks, feeling even more fond, which she didn’t think was possible at this point. She stands up and goes to sit next to Steve, patting his knee when she’s seated. He smiles a little lopsided smile, eyebrows raised, and he looks so young and full of hope.

“Tiffany’s will be perfect,” she says softly.

“Yeah. It will. Um, I was hoping to bring Sam with us?”

“Oh, Steve, you and Sam go by yourselves. I’ll get you the appointment, but I don’t need to be there. Besides, that way I will get to be genuinely surprised when Bucky shows me.”

“Pepper that’s...thank you. That will be great. How about I get the three of us in a group text and we can coordinate that way?”

Pepper nods. “That sounds perfect.”

“Um, and there’s one more thing. I’m sorry to keep asking you for favors, but I had an idea about the proposal, and I could use your help making it happen, if you think Bucky will like it.”

“Steve, I think you know best what he would like.”

Steve shrugs. “Your opinion matters to me about this, Pepper.”

God, now she’s feeling even _more_ fond! “Okay, tell me your idea and we’ll see.” Steve does.

When he’s finished talking, Pepper says, “He’ll absolutely love that, Steve. Let me see how I can make that happen.”

Steve’s smile is big and bright. “Thank you so much, Pepper.”

“You be good to our boy and that will be thanks enough.”

Steve nods. “I will,” he says earnestly.

And he will, Pepper knows. He will.

~~~

**Bucky**

Bucky’s watering his plants in the library when Steve peeks his head around the door. “Hey,” he says, “don’t make any plant for Thursday, okay?”

“Uh...sure, okay.”

“I want to take you somewhere, so be ready to leave the apartment by 9:30.”

Bucky perks up when he hears that. “Ooh, like a date?” Steve’s face does something weird. It goes soft but also...pinched? Is that even possible? Whatever, a date! Yay!

“Yeah, Buck, like a date.”

“Okay, I’ll be ready.”

Steve smiles as he leaves. Bucky looks down at Alpine, who’s definitely trying to get at the plants while Bucky’s not paying attention. “What do you think _that_ was about?” Bucky asks the cat.

“Mrrrow,” Alpine replies, not taking his eyes off the plants.

“Yeah, me neither,” Bucky says.

Thursday rolls around, and Bucky realizes Steve never told him the dress code for this date, so he just throws on some nice jeans and a soft sweater, gets his hair looking pretty nice, if he does say so himself: soft; touchable; see it all day and want to run your fingers through and tug on it a little. That sort of nice.

He heads out of the bedroom and sees Steve by the kitchen before Steve sees him, and he looks…incredible. He’s wearing gray pants with some sort of pattern on them, a black sweater with a bit of a V-neck that he’s rolled up his forearms a little, and...are those Chelsea boots? Holy shit, where did he get those clothes? Bucky’s half-tempted to say fuck the date and drag Steve to their bedroom all day, he looks that hot. 

He also looks really nervous, which is so endearing. Fuck. He’s shaking one of his legs a little, and he keeps checking his watch even though Bucky knows he’s not late, and just. That’s so cute, that he’s nervous to take Bucky out for a date when Steve knows Bucky’s a sure thing. God, he loves this man.

“You look handsome,” Bucky says as he walks up to Steve, who flinches when he hears Bucky’s voice. Bucky raises his eyebrows, but Steve just rolls his eyes at himself and smiles at Bucky. “Where did you get those clothes?”

“Oh,” Steve says, looking down at his body. “Nat dragged me to the store when I told her I wanted to p...lan a date for you. A special date.”

Steve smiles sheepishly, and Bucky is 85% sure that “plan” isn’t what he originally meant to say, but he’s not going to embarrass the man by calling him out. 

“You look really nice, too, Buck,” Steve says, though Bucky feels a little underdressed now that he’s seen Steve’s outfit.

“Yeah? I can go change into something a little nicer, if you want.”

“Nah, you look great. Your hair is just…” he takes a few steps toward Bucky until he’s standing right in front of him, then reaches out and runs his fingers through the ends of Bucky’s hair. It makes Bucky shiver a little, like Steve playing with his hair almost always does.

“Hey,” Steve whispers as he slips his fingers from Bucky’s hair, sliding them down Bucky’s neck to trace the chain Bucky wears with his fingertips. He follows the chain until it disappears under Bucky’s sweater before dropping his hand to his side, the smallest, softest smile on his lips.

Lips that Bucky just has to kiss _right the fuck now_ , so he does.

“You ready to go?” Steve asks when Bucky pulls away, and he is, so they do. There’s a car waiting for them in the garage, Happy behind the wheel. Bucky greets him as he climbs in the car, and they start driving without Steve telling him where he wants them to go, so clearly they’ve coordinated this beforehand.

Steve is still nervous in the car, leg bouncing all over the place, hands all fidgety. Bucky puts his hand on Steve’s knee to stop it from bouncing, and Steve closes his eyes and sighs.

“Steve, I know you worked hard on planning this date, but it’s me. You know me. I’m gonna love whatever it is we’re doing, okay? You don’t have to worry,” Bucky says, tracing the inside of Steve’s knee with his thumb.

Steve sighs again before looking over at Bucky and smiling. He reaches out and puts his hand on Bucky’s neck to pull him closer for a kiss, then leaves his hand there so he can trace his thumb against the chain around Bucky’s neck like he seems to want to do some days.

Bucky reaches up to his chest and touches the dog tags hanging on his chain under his sweater, a ring sandwiched between them. A few weeks after the fall of SHIELD and Hydra’s exposure, Natasha had come back from a mission with a brown paper envelope.

“This is for you,” she told Bucky, handing him the envelope. He frowned at her before opening the envelope, tipping it so the contents slid into his hand. Steve had been sitting next to him, and he’d gasped and covered his mouth with his hand. His dog tags, both of them, were just...sitting in his palm. He thought for sure they’d been lost forever, but apparently Hydra had kept them around for some reason.

“Where did you find these?” he asked Natasha, voice thick with awe.

“Belarus,” she said tightly. “We have no idea how they got there, though. They weren’t with any papers or other items that might give us a lead. I thought you’d like to have them back.”

“You’re right. Thank you.”

Steve had helped him clean them up and straighten the one that had gotten a little bent. The other one was missing a corner, but once they were polished up, they didn’t look too bad. Steve had bought him a new chain for them, and he’d been wearing them ever since.

“We’re here,” Steve says, breaking Bucky out of his reverie. Bucky looks out the window as Happy comes around to open the door. 

Oh, it’s…”The Natural History Museum!” Bucky exclaims, getting excited. He and Steve had never gone when they were kids, and he just never got around to it after he moved into the Tower, so this is awesome.

“Steve, this is awesome!” Happy opens the car door, and Bucky is out like a shot, bouncing on the balls of his feet until Steve makes his way around the car to meet him. Steve chuckles and pulls Bucky close, kissing his hair before waving goodbye to Happy and making their way into the museum.

They spend hours there, and Bucky cannot believe he’s never taken the time to visit before because it is incredible. There are fossils and dinosaur skeletons and taxidermied animals and so many things about _space,_ holy shit!!! They even have a…

“Planetarium! Steve, there’s a planetarium! Can we go? Can we?”

Steve laughs and says of course they can go. As the lights start going down, Steve’s stomach rumbles loudly. He looks over sheepishly, and Bucky just laughs, whispering, “lunch after this?”

Steve nods and threads his fingers with Bucky’s so they can hold hands while the planetarium show plays.

It’s almost 3:00 by the time the show ends, and wow, Bucky hadn’t realized it was that late already. They got to the museum when it opened at 10:00, and they haven’t stopped looking at things all day. Well, Bucky’s been enthusiastically looking at things, and Steve has been following him from exhibit to exhibit with the softest look on his face, listening intently when Bucky reads facts to him from the museum displays or coos about a cool space rock.

It’s been one of the best days Bucky’s had in a long time. Maybe since their date at The Met. Huh. Guess they need to get out together more.

Steve suggests a little gastropub close to the museum, and they walk the few blocks since the weather is good. The food is delicious, and Bucky is so happy. Steve seems to get nervous again when their dessert comes, which is puzzling considering the date is almost over, and that it went spectacularly well.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Bucky asks before digging into a, frankly, sinful-looking slice of chocolate cake.

“Yeah, I’m good. Great, even. I had a really good time today.”

“Me too, Steve.”

“I’m glad to hear that because it isn’t over yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“Finish your cake and you’ll find out.”

“Steve Rogers, man of mystery. In that case, grab a fork and help me finish this so we can get done sooner. I want to see what’s next!”

Steve laughs but picks up a fork anyway. “Deal.”

Happy picks them up from the restaurant, and Bucky slides in the car, only for it to stop...a few blocks away, in front of the Natural History Museum. The Natural History Museum that is closing in — Bucky checks his watch — ten minutes.

“Uh…” he says intelligently. Steve smiles tightly and tells Bucky to trust him, so he gets out of the car and walks up to the museum with Steve. There’s a man waiting just inside the doors for them, and he smiles as he escorts them back to the planetarium.

“Enjoy your shows,” he says.

“Steve,” Bucky says breathlessly, “what is going on? Oh, shit, did I ruin part of your date plan by insisting we see the planetarium show earlier?”

“No,” Steve laughs, “they have more than one show, Buck. Come on, let’s go inside.”

Steve holds the door open for him, and there’s a woman inside who shows them to the best seats in the room. She smiles at them both once they’re settled and goes to the control booth to start the show.

“Steve, oh my god,” Bucky says as the lights dim. “A private planetarium show?”

“Two, actually, with a dessert break in between. Now shush.”

The show is incredible, but Steve seems to get more and more nervous as it goes on. His leg is bouncing all over the place again, and Bucky swears he can hear Steve’s heartbeat accelerating as the lights come back up.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Bucky asks once he can see Steve’s face again.

“Yep!” Steve says, unconvincingly. Steve jumps up out of his seat and goes over to one of those soft-sided cooler bags that he must have had someone stow there earlier because Bucky never saw him with it. Aww, that is fucking adorable!

“Here, help me spread this out,” he says, holding up a blanket.

“A planetarium picnic?” Bucky’s heart tumbles around in his chest as he spreads out the blanket and sits down, wondering what else Steve has in that bag of tricks. He reaches out to grab it and look inside, but Steve sees him and shouts “no!”

Bucky pulls his hand back like he’s been burned, which makes Steve rub a hand down his face.

“Sorry, sorry. I just want it to be a surprise,” he says apologetically.

Bucky holds up both of his hands as his own apology. “No, I’m sorry. You’ve worked really hard to make this day special for me, and I should respect that.”

Steve looks at Bucky with such adoration that Bucky’s hand reaches for his dog tags. Maybe...no. No, this is Steve’s date, and Bucky won’t interfere with that.

Steve pulls out two mini bottles of sparkling wine, which makes Bucky giggle. “No glassware, it was a strict rule. Technically we aren’t even supposed to be eating and drinking in here, hence the blanket, but…”

“I promise not to make a mess,” Bucky says before unscrewing the wine bottle cap and taking a swig straight from the bottle. He smiles at Steve, whose hands are shaking as he tries and fails to get a grip on his own wine bottle cap. Bucky just smiles encouragingly at Steve, who sighs and puts the bottle down.

“Will you close your eyes? I want to surprise you with dessert.”

“Yeah, of course, Steve,” Bucky says, hoping this will help calm Steve’s nerves. He’s still not sure what’s going on with that. The day went perfectly, and this private planetarium show is amazing and also going perfectly, but Steve just...can’t seem to relax into it, poor guy. Maybe it’s some Avengers business that he didn’t want to worry Bucky with, or maybe —

“Okay, open them.”

Bucky smiles and opens his eyes to find a sumptuous-looking cheesecake on a short, plastic cake stand. It has a chocolate crust and swirls of caramel running through it with salted caramel sauce on top. Bucky’s mouth starts to water before he sees Steve start to move, which draws his attention.

Steve is getting himself into a kneeling position, down on one knee like he’s...oh, shit. Oh, SHIT, is he proposing?!? Bucky turns his head back toward the cheesecake, and sure enough, right next to it on the cake plate is a robin’s-egg blue box, open to show a black, brushed-metal ring with a platinum lining.

Bucky gasps and looks back at Steve, who looks more scared than Bucky has ever seen him in his life, but also determined and hopeful, and he’s beautiful, and Bucky loves him so goddamn much, but…

“Bucky, I never thought this would be something we could have, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you —”

...oh, hell no, this _cannot_ be happening!

He doesn’t mean it to, but “Hell no!” comes out of his mouth anyway, and Steve’s face crumples. He looks absolutely destroyed, and Bucky’s stomach plummets to his toes. 

“That’s...that’s okay, Buck, I understand,” Steve says sadly, and Bucky’s not sure he’s ever heard Steve’s voice sound so small.

Oh, _fuck,_ he has to fix this.

“Steve, baby, fuck, that’s not…” Bucky crawls over to Steve, who’s collapsed onto the blanket, and sits down in front of him. He cups Steve’s face in his hands. “Will you look at me? Steve, please?”

Steve sighs and looks up. He’s crying, and Bucky feels like the worst kind of shit. “That came out wrong. Okay? God, I love you so much, Steve, you have to know that. Of course I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. I think about it all the fucking time. In fact,” he takes his hands away from Steve’s face and pulls his dog tag chain out from under his shirt.

Nestled in between the two tags is a wide brushed platinum ring, perfectly sized for Steve’s left ring finger. He opens the chain and pulls the ring off, holding it in front of Steve’s face so he can see it.

“I think about it so much that I bought this ring for you two months ago.”

“Bucky,” Steve whispers, starting to look hopeful again.

“I’ve been carrying it around, wondering if every minute of every day is the right time to give it to you. That ‘hell no’ wasn’t about your question, it was about the fact that you managed to ask it before I did.”

“Bucky, oh, my god,” Steve says, huffing out a wet laugh. Bucky reaches out and wipes the tears from Steve’s face, quirking a small smile that Steve returns. Bucky’s stomach starts working itself back where it belongs.

“Ask me again,” Bucky begs. “Please, Steve, ask me again.”

“I had this whole speech worked out and everything,” Steve gripes, smiling as he does to let Bucky know he’s not too upset.

“Steve,” Bucky pleads, laughter in his voice.

“James Barnes, I love the fuck out of you. Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Bucky says, surging into Steve so he can kiss him firmly on the mouth. “Yes, fuck, of course I’ll marry you!”

Steve laughs and kisses him back, pulling away to take the ring out of its box and slide it on Bucky’s finger. “Now you.”

“Now me what?”

Steve smiles indulgently. “You’ve been wanting to ask me a question for two months, I believe?”

“Oh, right! Steve Rogers,” Bucky says, echoing Steve’s proposal. “I love the fuck out of you, too. Will you marry me?”

“Hell yes I will.”

Bucky smiles and places Steve’s ring on his finger. It fits perfectly. “Oh,” Bucky says, eyes welling with tears. They’re really going to do it. They’re going to get _married._ It seems to hit Steve at the same time, and they reach for each other before tumbling down to the blanket to kiss and kiss and kiss.

Later, after the picnic is packed up, after the second planetarium show is over, as they’re riding home in the car, Happy beaming at them in the rear-view mirror, hands entwined, Steve says, “you really scared me back there.”

“I know. I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I just...panicked that maybe you didn’t know how much I love you, and that’s why you said no. I know I don’t say it a lot, and I should say it more, but —”

“Steve, hey, no,” Bucky interrupts, shifting in his seat so he can face Steve. “I want you to really listen to this, okay? I know you love me. I’ve known forever. It’s written on your bones, it pumps through your veins, your love for me. I don’t need you to say it because I can _feel_ it. You show me you love me every day in a thousand different ways. I don’t have to hear it to know. It seeps through your pores and into my heart, and I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Steve’s smile is wobbly, one tear streaking down his cheek, as he leans in to kiss Bucky, slow and lush and achingly tender.  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> It's over! We made it!!!
> 
> Now, who among you noticed that this was the first fic in the series where Steve and Bucky actually said the words  
> "I love you" to each other?
> 
> If you're wondering, yes, I purposefully did not have them say those three words in any other fics because the idea was...they were showing each other they loved the other, like the series title said. And let me tell you, it was not always easy to work around that!!
> 
> If you noticed, nicely done! If not, yay, that means I did my job well enough that you KNEW they loved each other without having to say it, like Bucky says at the end.
> 
> * If you're curious about their wedding rings, this is Steve's, and this is Bucky's.
> 
> * I have never been to the Natural History Museum in New York City, so I did my best with the map from their website and photos and things, but apologies if I royally messed it up.
> 
> That's all, folks! Gonna be a little sad as I mark this series complete but also have myself a celebratory beer because I think I earned it!!


End file.
